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In what is shaping up to be a well-funded push for passing a Columbus City Schools levy in
November, Mayor Michael B. Coleman declares in an ad that “quality education should not depend on
the color of a child’s skin, how much money their parents make, or the neighborhood they live
in."

There was mixed reaction among those who heard the statement in the ad, during Coleman speeches
or from pollsters trying to find a message to get the 9.01-mill levy passed. Some questioned the
intent.It was meant to do nothing more than state a demographic reality, Coleman spokesman Dan
Williamson said.

“Those three things are fact,” Williamson said. “In Columbus, the children not receiving a
quality education are disproportionately poor, disproportionately in low-income neighborhoods and
disproportionately children of color, which includes our immigrant population.”

But Sam Gresham, who has spoken out against the levy and the mayor’s education involvement, said
the phrase is aimed at the two groups who will decide the election: the black community and white
liberals.“They’re trying to tap into the hearts and minds of liberals and into the resentment and
anger of African-Americans,” said Gresham, a former president of the Columbus Urban League.

If the levy passes, Coleman believes, race and income will be less of a factor. His plan would
share $8.5 million a year with high-performing charter schools and designate almost $60 million for
district schools to expand preschool options, upgrade technology and pay for other programs,
Williamson said. Better schools will help break the cycle of poverty, he said.

Columbus City Schools students are 57.3 percent black, 26.8 percent white, 8 percent Latino and
7.9 percent other races. Out of 112 buildings rated for meeting proficiency standards, 101 scored a
D or F. Columbus charter schools are also majority black: about 64 percent of students in Franklin
County’s non-internet charter schools are black. At those buildings, 46 out 51 rated schools scored
a D or F in meeting standards.

Gaps exist between black and white student performance. For example, 54.7 percent of black
students in Columbus City Schools could pass the third-grade reading test, while 73.2 percent of
white students could. But the problem isn’t unique to Columbus. In Dublin City Schools, one of the
most-affluent districts in the county, more than 95 percent of white students passed the
third-grade reading test, but 61 percent of black students passed it. With about three weeks until
early voting begins, other areas of the Coleman plan lack details.

The plan would designate 11 percent of the levy, about $8.5 million a year, to share with “
high-performing” charters, defined as those earning an A or B on district report cards. However,
revamped state report cards no longer give an overall letter grade. Overall grades won’t return
until 2015.

Williamson said a group will convene before Election Day to define what a high-performing
charter is. But the group won’t list which local charters would qualify for money. Coleman rules
out “for-profit” charters, but Williamson couldn’t say whether that means that one of city’s
highest-performing charters, Columbus Preparatory Academy, would be excluded because it is managed
by for-profit Mosaica Education Inc.

Also, the mayor’s plan calls for the city and private businesses or individuals to add $21.5
million to $41.5 million each year to the $8.5 million the levy would provide to charters. But no
one has said who would donate that money, or for how long.

The proposed 9.01 mill levy represents a 23.5 percent increase on district tax bills, which
would add about $315 a year in new tax to a $100,000 house. Of that increase, 1 mill, or about $35,
would go to charter schools.